A scintillator is a material (either phosphor or crystalline structure) which emits scintillations (light) when excited by radioactivity such as alpha, beta, and gamma radiation. The scintillator light is directed to a photosensitive device to produce electrical output signal pulses directly related to the different radiations.
It is known to use individual alpha, beta, and gamma scintillators to conduct separate surveys of an area, object, or person for the presence of alpha, beta, and gamma radiation. It is also known to use combined scintillators for sensing alpha/beta and beta/gamma radiation.
Typically, such scintillators are mounted in a light-tight housing and may be provided with an entrance window formed of an aluminized plastic material to prevent ambient light from entering the radiation admitting entrance window.
An object of the invention is to provide a unitary scintillation detector and system for sensing the presence of alpha, beta, and gamma radiations selectively or simultaneously.
Another object of the invention is to provide a unitary assembly of individual and coupled alpha, beta, and gamma sensitive scintillators having different decay constants.
Still another object is to provide unitary assembly of alpha, beta, and gamma scintillators in which the alpha and beta scintillators are combined in a monolithic structure.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a scintillation detector and system in which the decay constants of alpha, beta, and gamma scintillators are selectively or simultaneously used to sense the presence of alpha, beta, and gamma radiations.